Saturday, December 17, 2011

Graded Winners Head Big Prairie Bayou Field

FLORENCE, Ky., Dec. 16, 2011 – The $50,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes at Turfway Park Saturday has drawn a competitive field of 11, led by graded stakes winners Proceed Bee and Mad Flatter.

Mad Flatter comes in to the 1 1/8-mile Prairie Bayou off a third place finish at that distance in the Carl Rose Classic at Calder a month ago. Two races back he was first in the Grade 3 Spend a Buck, a half-furlong shorter and also at Calder. He has won on all-weather tracks and trains on the Keeneland Polytrack, so his first trip to Turfway should throw him no curves. Mad Flatter races on or near the lead, and breaking from the six post should not compromise that style. Jon Court will ride for trainer Jeff Thornbury.


Proceed Bee won the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway and the Grade 3 Hawthorne Derby as a 3-year-old during his ambition 11-race campaign that year. Now 5 years old and racing less frequently, the Bernstein gelding comes in to the Prairie Bayou off a third-place finish in an optional allowance taken off the turf at Hawthorne a month ago. Two races back he was fourth, beaten three lengths, in the Robert F. Carey Memorial in October, also at Hawthorne. He typically races near the lead and may be handicapped by drawing the outside post, but the distance, track and surface will pose no problems. Rodney Prescott rides for trainer Scott Becker.

The field for the Prairie Bayou from the rail out are Plutonium (jockey Luis Martinez Jr.); Becky’s Kitten, a Kitten’s Joy homebred come home to race for Ken and Sarah Ramsey (John McKee); Cryptolight (Ramon Vazquez); Matty’s Trail (Ben Creed); Cool C Note (Marcelino Pedroza Jr.); Mad Flatter; Stream Cat (Thomas Pompell); Wealth to Me (Greta Kuntzweiler); William’s Kitten, the other Kitten’s Joy in the field (Victor Lebron); Denham (Julio Felix); and Proceed Bee.

The Prairie Bayou is the ninth of 10 races on Saturday’s card. First post is 5:30 p.m.

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